Jewish
leaders have criticised the BBC for continuing to give a
voice to shamed historian David Irving after he was
branded a "racist and anti-Semitic" by a High Court
judge.

They are outraged that the historian has appeared on
BBC2's Newsnight
and Radio 4's Today programme to defend himself.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews has
written to BBC director of news Tony Hall
complaining about the corporation's integrity in
giving Mr Irving a platform.

Mr Irving faces financial ruin since losing his
libel
action against American academic Professor
Deborah Lipstadt and Penguin Books over his
interpretation of the Holocaust.

Neville Nagler, director-general of the
board of deputies
of British Jews, said: "It is surprising that
the BBC regards it appropriate to offer a platform
for someone whom the High Court has found to be an
anti-Semite and a racist.

Picture:
David Irving interviewed in his study on the
evening after the verdict was announced

It
is surprising that the BBC regards it appropriate
to offer a platform for someone whom the High Court
has found to be an anti-Semite and a
racist

"The BBC sets the standard for journalistic integrity in
this country, and we are concerned to know what standards it
will be setting in the aftermath of the Irving case."

Mr Irving sued Prof Lipstadt over her 1994 book,
Denying the Holocaust: The Growing
Assault on Truth and Memory.

He said it had generated waves of hatred against him.

Deborah
Lipstadt: Her views ofDavid Irving were vindicated in court

He maintained he was not a Holocaust denier, although he
did question the scale of the Nazi destruction of the Jewish
population and their use of gas chambers.

But Irving lost the case after the judge accepted Prof
Lipstadt and Penguin's plea of justification.

Mr Irving was in defiant mood when he was interviewed on
the Today programme following his defeat.

He vowed to "carry on ploughing my straight furrow across
the country".

But the corporation says rather than giving Mr Irving a
platform, it had challenged him on his opinions and asked
questions many viewers and listeners wanted to see put to
him.

A BBC spokesman said it had tried to examine the
significance of the case.

He said the corporation had never offered Mr Irving a
platform for his views.

"Instead we sought to hold those views up to rigorous
scrutiny in order to reveal them for what they are," he
said.

"We recognise the
sensitivity of the case, and
throughout our reporting, sought to reflect the judge's
comments about David Irving's views."

David
Irving's AR-Online requests all its readers to
write moderate messages of support to the BBC's
Director of News, Mr Tony Hall, at BBC, Television
Centre, Wood Lane, London W12 7RJ.

(You
will not help if you use intemperate language.
Leave that to the traditional enemies of free
speech.)

Suggestion: Also write to the Newsroom at
the BBC Television Centre

Tuesday, 18 April, 2000

Website
fact: The stamina of the
defence team was aided by a six million dollar fund provided
by Stephen Spielberg, Edgar J Bronfman, and the American
Jewish Committee, which enabled them to pay 21 lawyers and
"experts"; the experts like Evans, Longerich were paid up to
£109,000 each to testify as they did (while the
defence's star legal team was paid considerably more).
Nobody was paying for Mr Irving, who has been fighting this
battle for three whole years. Nor did he pay his defence
witnesses one cent or sous: they testified from conviction,
not for reward. [Help!]